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Monday, September 10, 2012

Veggified Fried Eggplant: Filipino Style (Rellenong Talong)

Rellenong Talong or Veggified Fried
Eggplant (I totally made this name up) is by far one of my most favorite
Filipino dishes. Talong is the
Tagalog word for eggplant. Rellenong came
from the Spanish word, relleno, which
means stuffed. The suffix, ng, in the
Tagalog language is the same concept as adding ed to stuffed. Filipinos adapted many other Spanish words in the
same manner and turned them into Tagalog words.

No
one does Rellenong Talong quite like
my mom, who is an excellent cook and never once glances at recipes. My mom
cooks from experience, memory, and taste. Everything always starts with an
estimate and she tastes as she goes. But always, to be on the safe side, she
recommends not overdoing on salt or other seasonings. When a dish is lacking in
seasoning, you can always add more, but if it has too much, it’s pretty much
ruined.

Everyone
who leaves home for college and then comes home for long weekends or holidays
always request their moms to cook their favorite dishes. This Rellenong Talong, which is somewhat like
a vegetable filled eggplant omelette, was one of my frequent requests. Hmmm…
this just now struck me as odd, considering that I didn’t particularly like
eggplant as a kid. However, when eggplants are fried and transformed into this
dish, I could devour it in an instant.

Rellenong Talong recipes include
different vegetables and some ground meat. My mom’s, as far as I can remember,
has always been a vegetarian version. I like it like that. The ingredients that
she adds always change depending on what we had at home. It can be one or a
combination of the following: onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, green onions.

I
tried my best to conjure my mom’s recipe from memory instead of just calling to
ask her how she made it. Knowing her too well, she would not be able to give me
a straight answer because she is not a believer of recipes. So, I made this
from instinct and sweet memories of home.

First,
you start with steaming the eggplants to get them soft. The eggplants are then
mashed with a fork and sprinkled liberally with salt to prepare them for being
turned into an omelette, ideally. I say ideally because mine did not quite turn
into an omelette. Never mind that though… I would not do it any other way
because the flavor and all the other ingredients that went in made it taste so
darn good!

Now
the fixings, I added tomatoes, bell peppers, and chives into the beaten egg
seasoned with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and fish sauce. The sweet, crunchy, and
juicy vegetables were the perfect complement to the salty eggplant.

The
trick here is to cook the eggplant and veggies in super-hot oil. The egg is
supposed to act as a binder, but I think of it as an ingredient to add to help the
mashed eggplants turn brown faster. Like I mentioned above, this dish did not
turn out into an omelette and part of the reason may be because I only used one
egg. I wanted to showcase the eggplant because it is the main ingredient here,
but feel free to use two or more eggs. One is just perfect though, I promise. It’s
really no biggie if it falls apart, there’s no need to fret about looks here
because you would not want to sacrifice the deliciousness of the tomato and
bell pepper add-ins for beauty.

I
am not quite sure how to describe this dish except to tell you to trust me when
I say it is very good. DFJ, my super American boyfriend, raved about it and I
hope you will like it too. This is the kind of dish that reminds me of home…
the smell of eggplant frying in hot, hot oil wafting from the kitchen makes my
heart swell with love and brings back memories of my family gathered at our
dining table for meals.

This
is what Rellenong Talong is: homey,
delicious, and satisfying… a Filipino classic.

Just
so you know, rice is a must. It would not be a Filipino dish without rice to go
along with it, so go ahead and cook some, ok? Also, make sure you have some soy
sauce with a small splash of fresh lime juice on the side, it makes the dish
even better!

Veggified Fried Eggplant aka Rellenong Talong(Makes 2-3 servings)

2
long eggplants

¼
tsp salt

1
large egg

2
tsp soy sauce

½
tsp fish sauce

¼
tsp salt

freshly
ground black pepper

1
large tomato, diced

1
medium bell pepper, diced

1
heaping tbsp fresh chives, minced

olive
oil

1
tbsp soy sauce

a
small squeeze of fresh lime juice

Place
whole eggplants in a steamer. If the eggplants are too long, cut them in half.
Steam the eggplants in a large steamer over medium heat. When the water boils,
reduce the heat to medium low. The eggplant is ready when it turns wrinkly and easily
yields when poked with a fork. The whole steaming process takes 30-35 minutes.

Prepare
the rest of the ingredients while waiting for the eggplant to be ready. Place
egg, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, and pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl and
beat well. Add the diced tomato, bell pepper, and minced chives. Mix everything
well together.

When
the eggplants have softened enough, turn the stove off and carefully move them onto
a cutting board. Mash and flatten the eggplants with a fork. If the skin is hard,
it will naturally slide off. However, if it is soft it will not easily slide
off and does not have to be removed. Sprinkle the mashed eggplants all over
with ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Coat
the bottom of a large, nonstick pan with olive oil. Heat the oil over medium
heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place the mashed eggplants in the pan and
immediately pour the egg-vegetable mixture over them. Cook one side for about
15 minutes. Carefully flip the eggplants and chopped vegetables on the other
side and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Make sure that both sides are ever
so slightly burned, with just hints of dark brown. The slight charring makes it
taste really good.

For
the dip, pour a tablespoon of soy sauce in a small, dipping bowl and add a
squeeze or two of fresh lime juice.

This looks fantastic! How have I never heard of this dish before? My mom also never uses recipes, so I have never been able to recreate her dishes. But then again, I'm not as experienced with cooking savory dishes as you are ;)

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!